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Voters at the fire station polling place March 20, 2012 in Magnolia, Illinois. White House hopeful Mitt Romney looked set for a primary romp in President Barack Obama's home state Tuesday which would bring the plodding Republican nominating race a step closer to the finish line. Rival Rick Santorum was unbowed by polls showing Romney with a 15-point lead in Illinois as he rallied conservatives to stay true to their principles rather than give their vote to a moderate just because he is the 'choice of the establishment Republicans.' (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)

When I was a teenager, as soon as I was able, I rushed down to our local library to register to vote. In North Carolina, you can register to vote before you turn 18, so long as you'll turn 18 by the next general election. And I wanted to be ready.

I have always understood that we, as a people, derive our power from the right to vote. Even when things don’t go our way, we still significantly contribute to the process when we pull that lever. There has never been a moment – ever – when I truly thought that my vote didn’t count.

Across the country, however, there is concern about the voting process. Many believe it to be flawed, that there are incidents of massive voter fraud.

The laws, which are gaining momentum across the country (only two such strict photo ID laws existed at the beginning of 2011), are controversial. Supporters of the bill claim that it prevents voter fraud while critics fear that it will suppress votes, especially amount the elderly and the poor. That sentiment played out in my informal poll; when I queried folks on twitter, the answers were split fairly evenly. Supporters of voter ID bills were just edged out by critics with 45% in favor and 55% opposed.

A number of concerns about the bill are related to confusion over what forms of photo ID would be acceptable and the availability of photo IDs among the poor, the young and the elderly. Specifically, critics cited the lack of sufficient ID among minority voters. This issue was raised in South Carolina when it was reported that "minority registered voters were nearly 20% more likely to lack DMV-issued ID than white registered voters." Additionally, in urban areas, it's not unusual to delay getting a driver's license for several years or not get one at all; while I was driving with my learner's permit at age 15 in rural North Carolina, my former office assistant who grew up in Philadelphia didn't get hers until well past the age of 21.

To combat these worries, some states, like Pennsylvania will issue free ID cards to those who don't have proper ID; the cost of that endeavor is estimated to cost taxpayers $4.3 million. The state also plans to run a voter-education campaign similar to those in other states. The campaign would include radio and TV ads. The conservative cost of the campaign is $5 million though the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center puts the number as high as $11 million.

And it would be funded by, you guessed it, taxpayers.

Interestingly, in Pennsylvania, the Governor's Budget has allocated just $1 million for the project. Apparently, the Secretary of State is hoping to use some federal dollars to make up the difference. So all of you may be helping Pennsylvania out with our new law, including those taxpayers in states like North Carolina who are in the process of relaxing their own voter ID requirements.

The whole thing has given me pause. Voter fraud does exist. But will creating new rules - and throwing more dollars at programs - really fix the problem? And if we're not not sure that it will, is a tough economy the best time to experiment?